The Art of the Body

Antiquity and Its Legacy

Michael Squire

Description

The classical human body is perhaps the single most important and wide-ranging legacy bequeathed to the modern world by antiquity. Not only has it directed the evolutionary trajectory of western art; it has also saturated almost every aspect of the contemporary subconscious, as ideal, anti-type and point of departure. This short book represents the first concerted attempt to grapple with the complex nature of that legacy. Writing in an attractive and accessible style, and supplementing his text with a rich array of illustrations, Michael Squire guides his readers through a multifaceted range of modern interactions with ancient visual representations of the body. From Byzantine diptych to Hollywood cinema screen, and from Aphrodite to the Venus de Milo, The Art of theBody demonstrates the wide range of cultural ideas and anxieties that were explored by the figure of the body both in antiquity and in the various cultural landscapes that came afterwards. In exploring the fascinating connections between ancient and modern in the broadest sense, the book offers an ideal starting point and a stimulating textbook for undergraduate students of ancient history, classical archaeology and classical civilization.

The Art of the Body

Antiquity and Its Legacy

Michael Squire

Table of Contents

Foreword, Phiroze VasuniaPreface

1. Embodying the Classical2. Figuring What Comes Naturally? Writing the 'Art History' of the Body3. The Ancient 'Female Nude' (and Other Modern Fictions)4. Stripping Down and Undressing Up5. On Gods Made Men Made Images

The Art of the Body

Antiquity and Its Legacy

Michael Squire

Reviews and Awards

"The Art of the Body is an excellent addition to the Ancients and Moderns series, and will be a welcome resource for an advanced level course on art history. "--Nicole Wilson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Squire has written an engaging book that informs the reader about the art of the body in antiquity and its modern legacy in an appealingly original and idiosyncratic manner."--The Classical Journal